UBI could increase human well-being and help save the planet

Thursday, 17 August 2017, 11:45 pm
Article: Joseph Cederwall

Universal Basic Income could increase human well-being and help save the planet

Anthropologist Jason Hickel believes basic income could be part of the solution to this problem of the pervasiveness of the growth mentality. He presents UBI as forming part of a strategy of "planned de-growth," which he believes will "increase human well-being and happiness while reducing our economic footprint."

For too long, Western society has been enslaved to the concept of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) being the sole indicator of economic progress on a national and global scale. The big problem with this is that GDP does not accurately measure the wellbeing of our people or the wellbeing of our physical environment. This is because GDP fails to account for the negative consequences of this ‘growth’ focused economy such as environmental degradation or the social costs of a capitalist system such as unemployment or poverty. We need to escape from the confines of the GDP paradigm that essentially legitimises and favours a mentality of ‘growth at all costs’ as this approach simply does not increase the material or emotional wellbeing of all humans in this country.

"Curbing advertising, taxing carbon, a basic income, and a shorter work week" can be part of a strategy of "planned de-growth." (Photo: Generation Grundeinkommen/flickr/cc)

As some tech giants throw their weight behind the idea of a universal basic income, the anthropologist says it's a key component of a strategy to break the "addiction to economic growth [that] is killing us" and the planet.
Offering his views this week on BBC's "Viewsnight," Hickel, an anthropologist at the London School of Economics and author of books including The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions, says "we can't have infinite growth on a finite planet."

That argument—which others have made as well—should be clear by evidence of the "climate change, deforestation, and rapid rates of extinction" taking hold, he says.
The primary blame, according to Hickel, rests with "over-consumption in rich countries," and addressing that entails "planned de-growth," which will put the reins on "our plunder of the earth."

Hickel stresses that he's not referring to austerity, as the goal of "de-growth" is to "increase human well-being and happiness while reducing our economic footprint."

A blueprint to achieve that goal, he says, includes "curbing advertising, taxing carbon, a basic income, and a shorter work week."

"We need an economic model that promotes human flourishing in harmony with the planet on which we depend," he says.

The idea of a universal basic income is gaining attention worldwide as a potential solution to this ‘growth paradigm’. Hickel explains how UBI could help with de-growth in an op-ed for the Guardian this year:

“We already know, from existing experiments, that a basic income can yield impressive results – reducing extreme poverty and inequality, stimulating local economies, and freeing people from having to accept slave-like working conditions simply in order to stay alive. If implemented more broadly, it might help eliminate “bullshit jobs” and slash unnecessary production, granting much-needed relief to the planet. We would still work, of course, but our work would be more likely to be useful and meaningful, while any miserable but necessary jobs, like cleaning the streets, would pay more to attract willing workers, making menial work more dignified.”

Hickel goes on to say that perhaps the most important aspect of UBI is that it could help turn the tide on the spread of fascism so prevalent in our world right now.

“a basic income might defeat the scarcity mindset that has seeped so deep into our culture, freeing us from the imperatives of competition and allowing us to be more open and generous people. If extended universally, across borders, it might help instil a sense of solidarity—that we're all in this together, and all have an equal right to the planet. It might ease the anxieties that gave us Brexit and Trump, and take the wind out of the fascist tendencies rising elsewhere in nativism that is spreading across much of the world.”

It seems that UBI has potential to assist in this ongoing struggle to rein in a rampant growth centric economy. It certainly will not be the full picture and there is an alternative viewpoint that UBI could even increase consumption due to people having more income. However, it seems likely that any measure that increases the overall wellbeing of Kiwis will have positive impacts on our ability to do what is right for humanity and the planet by making more conscious consumption choices.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

This article builds on: Universal Basic Income Needed to Break 'Addiction to Economic Growth Killing Us'Published on Friday, August 11, 2017 on Common Dreams by Andrea Germanos, staff writer.

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Joseph Cederwall

Freelance Writer

Joseph is Co-editor of Scoop and Editor of The Dig. Joseph is an editor, writer, and social entrepreneur with an interest in open and participatory media and business models. In 2019, Joseph founded The Dig. Joseph has qualifications in law and anthropology and previously practiced as a lawyer in the Immigration and Human Rights field. He is now applying this background to the practice of ‘reverse anthropology' using a framing of indigenous worldviews to deconstruct the dominant worldviews and cultural myths of Western society. Joseph has a longstanding interest in the commons, participatory democracy, social justice, and human rights. He was a co-founder, and founding Director of ActionStation Aotearoa - now NZ's largest online movement-building organisation. Joseph is also a Director of Freerange Publishing Cooperative, and a long-time contributor to Enspiral - a non-hierarchical collective of freelancers and ventures dedicated to collaborative business practice and purpose-driven enterprise. He lives in beautiful Taranaki and enjoys watersports, permaculture, tai chi, music, and being in nature.

Contact Joseph Cederwall

• Email - joe@scoop.co.nz